The crimson interface appeared without warning.
Xia Ying had been mid-movement inside his undercity sanctum, testing the fluidity of his newly stabilized Realm 9 aura. Shadows coiled around his limbs like obedient serpents, extending and retracting at will as Tendrils hardened into blade-edges before dissolving back into mist.
The Adolescent Phantom lingered nearby—half-manifested, hollow eyes watching as if awaiting praise.
Then—
**Ping.**
The world dimmed slightly as system authority overrode his vision.
Crimson text unfolded.
---
**[Mandatory Enrollment: National Ascension Academy]**
**[High-Potential Branded — Flagged]**
**Criteria:**
• Flawless First Realm Conquest
• Solo Rank 3 Rift Clear
• Camp Acclimation Excellence
**Report To:** Island Transport Dock — Dawn Tomorrow
**Non-Compliance:** Rogue Classification
**Penalty:** Hunted Dissolution
---
Silence settled in the cavern.
The Phantom dissolved instinctively, sensing his shift in focus.
Xia Ying read the notice once.
Then again.
His expression never changed.
But internally—
A faint smile curved.
"So," he murmured softly, shadows rippling at his feet.
"Exile disguised as education."
Predictable.
Rising anomalies were never left unchained.
---
### **The Academy**
He had heard whispers since the refugee camp.
From survivors.
From Bazaar traders.
From wardens drunk on half-truths.
The **National Ascension Academy**—an isolated elite institution built upon a volcanic island far from civilian territories.
Officially:
A forge for branded elites.
Unofficially:
A containment prison for unstable potentials.
Those whose rapid growth threatened systemic balance were relocated—educated, monitored, tempered… or broken.
His solo Rift conquest had painted a target on his back.
Hero status attracted admiration.
But also control.
"A forge, then," he said quietly.
"I'll harvest it."
---
### **Preparation**
He packed lightly.
Sovereignty required little.
* Condensed essence vials
* Warded survival gear from camp days
* The rebar knife—now infused faintly with Vermin Queen dread
Its edge whispered softly when touched.
He sealed the lair thoroughly.
Phantom ward protocols activated—the child horror manifesting briefly to imprint possession signatures across locks and wards.
Intrusion here would not go unanswered.
---
### **Team Convergence**
His comm device flickered.
**Lin Mei — priority channel.**
Her voice came fast, laced with anxiety.
"Xia Ying? You got the notice too? I've been flagged—elite cohort. It's… scary. But if we're together—"
"We are," he replied calmly.
Her relief was audible.
Wei Jun joined moments later.
"Academy intel goldmine," he said pragmatically. "Chains research forbidden there. Rift pattern archives too. Dock rendezvous?"
"Confirmed," Xia Ying said. "Stay vigilant."
Channel closed.
He stood alone once more.
Past-life memories surfaced faintly—
Imperial academies where prodigies were exiled under the guise of refinement.
Some returned as generals.
Others never returned at all.
"Different empire," he murmured.
"Same chains."
---
### **Departure**
Pre-dawn fog swallowed the city streets as he emerged from the undercity.
Sirens wailed distantly—Rift cleanup still ongoing.
The transport dock loomed through the mist.
A warded vessel waited—sleek, reinforced, lined with Bureau sigils.
Flagged branded youths gathered under escort.
A spectrum of reactions:
* Nervous silence
* Forced bravado
* Shell-shocked detachment
Elite potentials.
Still human beneath the Curse.
---
### **Reunion**
"Xia Ying!"
Lin Mei rushed forward, relief breaking her composure as she hugged him tightly.
"For a moment I thought I'd be alone."
Wei Jun approached slower, offering a firm nod.
"Elite designation means deeper access. Worth the risk."
"Every chain hides a key," Xia Ying said.
They boarded together.
---
## **Voyage Through the Storm**
The sea did not welcome them.
It raged.
Waves slammed against the vessel like titanic fists, spray hissing against the crimson barrier shields lining the rails.
The storm felt wrong.
Not natural.
Phantom shapes skimmed the water's surface—distorted silhouettes formed from dread leakage where submerged Rifts destabilized the ocean floor.
Barrier arrays flared whenever they drew close.
The branded gathered on deck.
Some vomited over the rails.
Others postured to mask fear.
A speed-type ignited wind bursts around himself—futile defiance against the gale.
Lin Mei gripped the railing, pale.
"Storms feel like omens… Do they exile us there?"
Wei Jun scanned the horizon analytically.
"Isolation contains Flaw leaks. Chains forbidden zones. Logical."
Xia Ying stood unmoved, aura radiating faint calm that subtly steadied the two beside him.
"Exile tempers steel," he said.
"We return sharper."
Internally—
He let his aura sip the ambient dread saturating the storm.
A warm, illicit rush.
The Phantom's whisper brushed his mind.
> *Play… eternal…*
---
### **Abyss Beneath the Waves**
Lightning split the sky.
For a single instant—
Something vast moved beneath the vessel.
An abyssal silhouette.
Tendrils longer than towers lashed upward before slamming against the barrier field.
The shield screamed but held.
Panic rippled across the deck.
Xia Ying inhaled the fear unconsciously.
Storm apex passed soon after.
But the message lingered:
The Veil was never far.
---
## **Arrival — The Island Academy**
The island emerged through volcanic mist like a fortress carved from nightmare.
Black rock cliffs rose jagged against the sea.
Crimson ward lattices encased the shoreline.
The academy itself towered inland—spires of obsidian stone etched with ancient Chain sigils that pulsed faint ascension echoes.
The air felt… heavy.
Controlled.
His Flaw quieted slightly under the island's suppression field.
A place designed to stabilize hungers.
Or suffocate them.
They disembarked along a reinforced pier where barriers parted grudgingly to admit them.
---
### **Orientation**
They were ushered into a vast arena hall.
A holographic figure materialized above the central dais.
An elderly man.
Realm 8 aura compressed into terrifying stillness.
**Headmaster Arcturus Vale.**
His voice resonated through the hall like judgment itself.
"Welcome, branded potentials."
"The Academy exists to shatter illusions."
"You will embody your Chains—"
"Or dissolve beneath them."
Silence followed.
No one mistook the warning for metaphor.
---
### **Tour of the Forge**
Guided escorts led cohorts through the campus:
**Forbidden Libraries**
Warded tomes pulsed behind barrier glass—Chain theory scrolls, Dominion evolution records, pre-Veil manuscripts.
**Rift Simulation Arenas**
Training pits containing stabilized Rift leaks—live horrors shackled within containment grids.
**Observation Towers**
High platforms overlooking distant Veil fractures where cosmic silhouettes drifted like deep-space leviathans.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Volcanic mist carried faint dread toxins.
Even the walls whispered:
**Ascend… or starve…**
Xia Ying smiled faintly.
A banquet indeed.
---
### **Watched**
During intake lineup, he felt it.
A gaze.
An instructor—Realm 7—perception-type Dominion probing students' cores subtly.
When the probe reached Xia Ying—
It slipped.
Deflected by calm surface aura masking abyssal depth.
The instructor's eyes lingered longer than comfortable.
Interest marked.
---
## **Elite Sorting**
Grand hall panels ignited.
Crimson scanners swept each branded:
* Bureau records
* Camp performance
* Rift combat logs
When Xia Ying's data appeared, murmurs spread.
**Flawless First Realm.**
**Solo Rank 3 Clear.**
**Psychological Acclimation — Exceptional.**
Dominion testing followed.
Students absorbed minor essence vials while instructors monitored Flaw stability.
Some trembled.
One overreached—Flaw twitching violently before suppression fields intervened.
Lin Mei stabilized hers gently.
Wei Jun controlled his through analytical pacing.
Xia Ying sipped his essence calmly—
No surge.
No leak.
Perfect containment.
He revealed nothing deeper.
---
### **Cohort Assignment**
Panels finalized groupings.
**Elite Cohort — 20 Members**
Dominion synergy balanced for cooperative ascension modeling.
Lin Mei and Wei Jun appeared beside his designation.
Relief flickered across both their faces.
"Together," Lin Mei whispered.
"Strategic advantage," Wei Jun added.
Then came the final notation:
**Xia Ying — High Surveillance Priority**
He almost laughed.
---
## **Dormitory Allocation**
Night fell quickly over the volcanic isle.
Dormitory rosters posted in the central hall.
Shared quarters—forced proximity to encourage "Chain synergy."
One name beside his drew immediate attention.
**Zuo Flameheart**
Murmurs erupted nearby.
"Clan heir…"
"Major lineage…"
"Fire Dominion prodigy…"
The dorm door slid open at his arrival.
Inside already stood the heir.
---
### **Rival Ignition**
Zuo Flameheart radiated arrogance like heat.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Flames flickered lazily across his palms without strain.
He smirked the moment Xia Ying entered.
"So," Zuo drawled.
"The slum hero."
"Videos flatter luck."
Flames flared brighter.
"Lineage commands Chains. Remember your place."
He tossed his gear onto the prime bunk without asking.
"Rooming with lesser stock… insulting."
Xia Ying set his belongings down opposite without response.
Their gazes met.
For a fraction of a second—
His aura leaked.
Just a thread.
A seed of abyssal doubt.
Zuo's flames flickered.
Unstable.
He masked it quickly—but not before Xia Ying noticed.
Internally—
He smiled.
"Flames burn bright," he thought.
"Shadows consume."
---
### **Nightfall**
Lights dimmed across the academy complex.
Outside, volcanic mist swallowed the towers.
Inside the dorm—
Heat radiated from Zuo's side of the room.
Before sleep, the heir spoke again—voice low.
"Arena trials start soon."
"Sleep lightly, slum sovereign."
Xia Ying lay back, shadows curling beneath his bed like loyal beasts.
His smile was invisible in the dark.
"Exile," he murmured inwardly,
"has begun."